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Press Release - Major Exhibition Exploring the History of California Wildflowers to Open at The Huntington This Spring

February 05, 2013

“When They Were Wild: Recapturing California’s Wildflower Heritage,” on
view in the MaryLou and George Boone Gallery March 9–July 8 (extended
from June 10), is complemented by three exhibitions at other venues and
more than a dozen public events.

SAN
MARINO, Calif.—In March, The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and
Botanical Gardens will present a major exhibition exploring a colorful
and captivating aspect of California’s natural history: its
wildflowers. “When They Were Wild: Recapturing California’s Wildflower
Heritage,” on view March 9–July 8 (extended from June 10) in the MaryLou
and George Boone Gallery, will showcase more than 300 items—drawings,
paintings, herbarium specimens, and other objects—that trace the journey
of California’s plants from the flower fields into the home garden.

The
exhibition is a collaborative project of The Huntington, Rancho Santa
Ana Botanic Garden in Claremont, Calif., and the Theodore Payne
Foundation for Wild Flowers and Native Plants in Sun Valley, Calif.
Works from all three collections, along with loans from several other
public and private collections, will be on view in the Huntington show,
with related displays at the two other institutions and at the Santa
Barbara Botanic Garden. More than a dozen public programs including
lectures, workshops, plant sales, and wildflower walks will be offered
at The Huntington, Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden, and the Theodore
Payne Foundation.

“When They Were Wild” draws on a rich
heritage of wildflower illustration to take a closer look at
California’s natural and cultural history: exploring the source of the
state’s floral bounty; how people have used, categorized, and depicted
these flowers; and how wildflowers came to represent the state.

“We
couldn’t be more grateful to be collaborating with our colleagues on
this project, presenting what might be the most ambitious exhibition on
the horticultural history of California wildflowers ever mounted,” says
Huntington botanical educator Kitty Connolly, who is co-curating the
exhibition along with James Folsom, The Huntington’s Telleen/Jorgensen
Director of the Botanical Gardens. “To be working across disciplines,
looking at the intersections of science and art, has been especially
rewarding.”

California has one of the most diverse floras
in the world, spread across several distinct floristic provinces—regions
of plant distribution defined by shared climate, geology, and
geography. Three of the state’s primary provinces are the Californian
(chaparral, coastal sage scrub, oak woodland, and grassland),
Vancouverian (mixed evergreen and coniferous forests), and Desert (cacti
and desert scrub).

In the late 19th and early 20th
centuries, the breathtaking abundance of plants that grew across these
regions captured the imagination of a legion of horticulturists,
botanists, and amateur naturalists, many of whom were also talented
artists. These individuals had a passion for exploring the state’s
mountains and valleys, its deserts and coastal regions—a passion that
went hand-in-hand with a desire to document the wildflowers that graced
the untamed landscape.

Among the wildflowers depicted in the exhibition are California’s largest native bloom, Romneya coulteri, commonly known as the Matilija poppy or “fried egg flower”; the wild California peony, Paeonia californica, which grows along the shaded margins of the chaparral ; the lovely “fairy orchid,” Calypso bulbosa, at home in the rich, moist soil of the evergreen forests of the Coast Ranges; the Mojave aster, Xylorhiza tortifolia var. tortifolia; and many representations of the Golden State’s official flower, Eschscholzia californica, the California poppy.

Through
the work of artists such as Alice Brown Chittenden (1859–1944), Clara
Mason Fox (1873–1959), Ethel Wickes (1872–1940), and James Milford
Zornes (1908–2008), the exhibition not only will allow viewers to
rediscover the iconic beauty of California’s flora but will underscore
the connections between the passion for nature and personal expression.
In many instances, the drawings and paintings on view were not meant to
be sold or dispersed; they were visual memories and journals, records of
the artists’ own personal impressions of the state’s native plants.

Yet
the artists are not the focal point of “When They Were Wild,” says
Connolly. “This exhibition is about the plants themselves and the role
they played in the development of California horticulture as many native
species passed from wildness into cultivation. Our goal is to place the
artworks into their natural historical and horticultural contexts, to
shed light on the origins, history, and perhaps the future of California
wildflowers.”

“When They Were Wild” will be arranged thematically into four sections:

Heritage includes
the conditions that gave rise to the most diverse flora in the United
States as well an impressive array of that diversity depicted in art.

Discovery and Use
covers pre-European cultivation and use of wildflowers, their treatment
as objects of scientific interest, portrayal for their artistic beauty,
and domestication for horticultural profit.

Cultivation examines
how wildflowers were used to shape the image of California at the turn
of the 20th century and how home gardeners today have greater
opportunity than ever before to grow their own California wildflowers.

The Flower Field
will surround visitors with a profusion of more than 100 illustrations
representing the amazing range and diversity of wildflowers that once
covered California.

Among the highlights of the
exhibition is a painting of a wildflower species that was unknown to
science before the artist captured its likeness. The pink mallow (Sphaeralcea ambigua var. rosacea)
by artist Alice Chittenden was found in 1917 and subsequently named by
botanists P. A. Munz and I. M. Johnston. An 1894 watercolor by Eloise
Baldwin documents the blooming of Cypripedium montanum (Mountain Lady’s Slipper orchid) in the Santa Cruz Mountains, where it has not been seen in at least 75 years.

And
“When They Were Wild” will include the first-ever public display of the
works of Clara Mason Fox (1873–1959), whose lively watercolors capture
the plant life of Silverado Canyon in Orange County. Until this
exhibition, the paintings resided in the herbarium at Rancho Santa Ana
Botanic Garden alongside dried and pressed plants, serving as a
scientific reference for plant distribution and identity. Forty-six of
her works are included in the exhibition and evoke the rural past of
Southern California. Additional Fox works will be on view at Rancho
Santa Ana Botanic Garden.

In addition to drawings and
paintings, the exhibition includes pressed and dried herbarium
specimens, photographs, prints, published works by influential experts
on California wildflowers such as Philip Munz and Willis Linn Jepson,
and ephemera from the 20th century including seed catalogs and other
advertisements.

To supplement the exhibition, an online database
will allow the public to explore in greater detail the rich legacy of
illustrations of California flora produced by amateur naturalists. The
database will serve as a clearing house of information about
wildflower-related works held by The Huntington, the Rancho Santa Ana
Botanic Garden, the Theodore Payne Foundation, and other institutions.
It will provide a wealth of information about each image—species,
collection site, date, and biographical details on the artists—and is
being developed principally as a resource for horticulturists, artists,
and historians.

“When They Were Wild: Recapturing
California’s Wildflower Heritage” is made possible by generous support
from an anonymous donor in honor of Robert F. and Lois S. Erburu.

Additional
support was provided by Gwen and Guil Babcock, Judi and Bry Danner,
Stephen Rogers, Helen and Peter Bing, Joanne and Ethan Lipsig, Toshie
and Frank Mosher, the Ahmanson Foundation Exhibition and Education
Endowment, and the J. W. and Ida M. Jameson Foundation.

Preschool Series - Wild about Flowers March 27, April 3, 10 and 17 (Wednesdays) 10 a.m.–noon Explore
the gardens and the exhibition with instructor Laura Moede. Each class
includes garden and art projects, stories, and more. Fee includes one
accompanying adult. Ages 3-4. Huntington Members: $85; Non-Members: $95.
Registration: 626-405-2128.

After-School Adventures - Pressing Flowers April 10 (Wednesday) 3:30–4:30 p.m.What’s
so wild about wildflowers? Instructor Laura Moede leads youngsters into
the garden to explore these fascinating flora. Students make their own
pressed flowers to take home as cards or mini masterpieces. Ages 5–6.
Fee includes one accompanying adult. Huntington Members: $15;
Non-Members: $20. Registration: 626-405-2128.

Second Thursday Garden Talk - California Wildflowers for the Home GardenApril 11 (Thursday) 2:30 p.m.Bart
O’Brien of Rancho Santa Ana Botanical Garden discusses how to select,
grow, and care for California native annuals in the home garden. After
the program, the audience is invited to self-tour the “When They Were
Wild” exhibition. Free; no reservations required.

Lecture - Beauty Within and Beauty Without: California’s Native Peoples and Wildflower FieldsApril 19 (Friday) 2:30–3:30 p.m.M.
Kat Anderson, botanist and author of Tending the Wild, looks back at
the tremendous diversity of California’s wildflower fields and how
deeply intertwined wildflowers were with California Indian culture. In
exchange for benefits like food, medicine, and ornamentation, indigenous
people employed judicious gathering strategies and stewardship of the
landscape. Book signing follows. Free; no reservations required.

Second Thursday Garden Talk - Gene Bauer: Paper, Paint and PostageMay 9 (Thursday) 2:30–3:30 p.m.Gardener,
artist and author of Botanical Serigraphs: The Gene Bauer Collection,
Gene Bauer tells the story behind her Golden Native serigraphs of the
1970s, some of which are included in “When They Were Wild”. Book signing
follows. Free; no reservations required.

Lecture - California’s Wildflower ArtistsMay 18 (Saturday) 2:30–3:30 p.m.For
more than 100 years, artists have documented the California flora for
science, education, and conservation. John Wickham, former president of
the Theodore Payne Foundation, discusses the work of a wide range of
artists, their stories, and their drive to record this extraordinary
flora. Free; no reservations required.

Plant Show - California Wildflower ShowMarch 30 - 31 and April 1 (Saturday, Sunday and Monday) 10 a.m.–4 p.m.A
special exhibition of wildflowers from across the region brought
indoors for an intimate viewing. Monday, April 1, is Wildflower Show
Senior Day offering free Garden admission and tram tours for visitors
over 65. General admission.

Lecture - Clara Mason Fox: Pioneer, Painter, and Poet April 20 (Saturday) 11 a.m.Clara
Mason Fox, one of the featured artists for the “When They Were Wild”
exhibition, is the great aunt of Jon Seeman, co-author with his wife,
Lorraine Passero, of Clara Mason Fox: Pioneer, Painer, and Poet of
Orange County, California, a book about Clara's life in the late 1800s
and early 1900s. Book signing follows. General admission.

Garden Tour - 10th Annual Theodore Payne Native Plant Garden Tour April 6 and 7 (Saturday and Sunday) 10 a.m.–5 p.m.Showcasing
more than 40 gardens in the Los Angeles area, each planted with at
least 50% California natives, this special ten-year anniversary tour
celebrates native landscapes of the past, present and future! TPF
Members: $10 per person for both days; Non-members: $15. Available at
www.theodorepayne.org or by phone: 818-768-1802.

Field Trip - Wildflower Chase in the San Gabriel Mountains April 13 (Saturday) 7:30 a.m. –5 p.m. In
this all-day excursion to view spring-blooming annuals and perennials
in local mountains, you meet at TPF and travel by van to the most superb
flower-filled sites. Lorrae Fuentes is a botanical educator and native
plant advocate and producer of the Theodore Payne Wild Flower Hotline.
TPF Members: $75; Non-members: $100. Registration: 818-768-1802.

Adult and Family Workshop - Wildflower Watercolor April 20 (Saturday) 10 a.m.–noonCapture
the beauty of native spring wildflowers in this hands-on class for
budding artists of all ages. No experience necessary. Bring your own hat
and water but all other materials provided. Instructor Laura Stickney
was TPF’s 2012 Artist in Residence. Free, thanks to a generous gift from
Susan & Dan Gottlieb and The G2 Gallery, Venice. Pre-registration
is limited and required. Registration: 818-768-1802.

Lecture and Nature Walk - An Introduction to California Native Bees May 4 (Saturday) 9–11 a.m. Approximately
1,600 bees are native to California–and all have co-evolved with the
native flora. This introduction includes an illustrated talk covering
bees’ great diversity followed by a bee walk on TPF grounds. Led by
Hartmut Wisch, whose fascination with insect fauna comes from working
for 35 years as a naturalist-guide. TPF Members: $20; Non-members: $25.
Registration: 909-625-8767 ext. 224.

Resources

Rancho Santa Ana Botanic Garden1500 N. College Ave, Claremont, Calif. rsabg.orgPromotes
botany, conservation, and horticulture to inspire, inform, and educate
the public and the scientific community about California’s native flora.

Theodore Payne Foundation Wild Flower Hotline818-768-3533 or theodorepayne.org/hotline.htmlNow
in its 31st year, provides weekly updates March through May on where to
see the best spring wildflower displays in Southern California.

About The HuntingtonThe
Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens is a
collections-based research and educational institution serving scholars
and the general public. More information about The Huntington can be
found online at huntington.org.

Visitor InformationThe
Huntington is located at 1151 Oxford Rd., San Marino, Calif., 12 miles
from downtown Los Angeles. It is open to the public Monday, Wednesday,
Thursday, and Friday from noon to 4:30 p.m.; and Saturday, Sunday, and
Monday holidays from 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Summer hours (Memorial Day
through Labor Day) are 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Closed Tuesdays and major
holidays. Admission on weekdays: $20 adults, $15 seniors (65+), $12
students (ages 12–18 or with fulltime student I.D.), $8 youth (ages
5–11), free for children under 5. Group rate $11 per person for groups
of 15 or more. Members are admitted free. Admission on weekends and
Monday holidays: $23 adults, $18 seniors, $13 students, $8 youth, free
for children under 5. Group rate $14 per person for groups of 15 or
more. Members are admitted free. Admission is free to all visitors on
the first Thursday of each month with advance tickets. Information:
626-405-2100 or huntington.org.

About The Huntington

The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens is a collections-based research and educational institution established in 1919 by Henry E. and Arabella Huntington. Henry Huntington, a key figure in the...